Winter / Spring 2015 - INSPIRATIONS EXPRESS 12

The MoMA experience and a new place to stay in New York City

NEW YORK CITY - If you are headed to New York City anytime soon, here is a good tip: purchase the CityPASS (http://www.citypass.com/new-york). New York sure does appreciate its Canadian tourists and this has been underlined in recent years by the establishment of an NYC & Company office right at 99 Blue Jays Way in Toronto. By logging on to www.nycgo.com you can begin planning your activities.

We were only in town for a few days and while the other two members of the family saw some Broadway shows, I wanted to do some exploring. But where does one start? New York CityPASS includes admission to NYC’s top six attractions: the Empire State Building Observatory, The Met, American Museum of Natural History, MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art), Top of the Rock or Guggenheim and the Statue of Liberty or Circle Line Cruises. It is valid for nine days from first day of use. Not only do you get to skip ticket lines, you save 41 percent.

I had never been to MoMA (MoMA.org) before, described as the foremost museum of modern art in the world. Established in 1929 as an educational institution, MoMA is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions and the world’s finest collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental. Its mission is helping you un-derstand and enjoy the art of our time.

MoMA is located in midtown Manhattan, at 11 West Fifty-third Street, between Fifth

and Sixth avenues. MoMA’s holdings in-clude more than 150,000 individual pieces in addition to approximately 22,000 films and four million film stills. Upon arrival, pick up a mobile device free of charge on floors 1 or 6. Photo ID is required. You can also use your own handheld device via Mo-MA’s public Wi-Fi network or download the free APP at MomMA.org/mobile.

It is best to start off on the 6th floor to see any special exhibitions on and then work your way down. The fifth and fourth floors features paintings and sculptures from the 1880s to the 1940s and the 1940s to the 1980s respectively: the likes of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vin-cent van Gough, Roy Lichtenstein, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. Floor 3 focuses on architecture and design while contempo-rary galleries (prints, illustrated books and media) highlight the second floor. Near the lobby, on the main floor, you will find an art lab and a sculpture garden. There are the-atres down below showing different films. You must go to the film desk to find out the schedule and get a special ticket.

MoMA recognizes the diversity of the gen-eral public’s abilities and needs, and it of-fers a variety of programs and services to ensure the accessibility of the Museum and its collection. All public areas of the Muse-um and entrances are wheelchair accessible. Entrances with power assist doors are lo-cated on Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth streets between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Wheel-chairs are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis and are located in the checkroom in the main lobby. Motorized wheelchairs are permitted.

Wheelchair-accessible restrooms, each situ-ated next to a water fountain, are located on all floors except the Theater 2 level and the entry level of The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building. A single-user/family restroom is located on the fifth floor. Elevators are located through-out the Museum. FM assistive listening de-vices (headsets and neck loops) are avail-able for all Gallery Talks. Sign language interpretation is provided for Gallery Talks on the fourth Sunday of the month at 1:30 p.m. Sign language interpretation is avail-able for all events with at least two weeks

advance notice and CART captioning

MoMA Audio is T-Coil compatible, and transcripts of all audio programs are avail-able upon request from the audio desks. All MoMA theaters, lobby desks, ticket-ing desks, audio guide desks, and one of The Edward John Noble Education Cen-ter’s classrooms are equipped with induc-tion loops that transmit directly to hearing aids with T-Coils. Public telephones with volume control and TTY are located on the ground floor, in the vestibule of the public restrooms. The floor plan and select special-exhibition brochures are available in large print and Braille from the lobby information desk. An audio program for blind and par-tially sighted visitors that provides detailed descriptions of key works from the Muse-um’s collection is available free of charge at the audio desks.

Family Programs at MoMA introduce kids and adults to modern and contemporary art through gallery conversations, art work-shops, artist talks, film screenings, activ-ity guides, websites, and interactive spaces. Museum and program admission are free.

MoMA is open Saturday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Museum Admission is $25 for adults; $18 for seniors and 65 years and over with I.D.; $14 full-time students with current I.D. There is no cost for members and children 16 and under. For information, call (212) 708-9400, or visit MoMA.org.

WHERE TO STAY: We stayed some-where new on this trip, the Omni Berkshire Place (http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/new-york-berkshire) at 21 East 52nd Street between 5th and Madison- a great location. I was particularly impressed with the live chat assistance available on their website as I planned the trip. With the simple click of the mouse there was someone at the op-posite end answering all of my questions in real time. I also signed up free of charge for the Select Guest Loyalty Program, which provides you with complimentary perks such as free Wi-Fi Internet service, access to a 24-hour business center and a state-of-the-art fitness center with a sundeck over-looking midtown Manhattan. You also get a free shoe shine, pressings, the newspaper, morning beverage of your choice, express check-in and check-out, customized room preferences and bottled water.

This luxury Omni Berkshire Place is steps away from Fortune 500 companies and some of the city’s most illustrious sites like Fifth Avenue Shopping, St. Patrick’s Cathe-dral, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Broadway theatres.

We stayed in a spacious Madison Suite, overlooking 52nd Street and Madison Av-enue. These magnificent 781-square-foot

suites feature a large master bedroom with an oversized bath that includes separate shower and soaking tub along with gener-ous counter space. There are two telephones in the bathroom. We very much appreci-ated the in room safe. The separate living area has an extremely comfortable pull-out sleeper sofa, club chair, desk and an iHome© audio system. The hotel has a very helpful concierge desk. Across the street is Isadora’s Cafe, which has an absolutely endless array of items to choose from. It is just perfect to bring dinner back to the room before a show.

ADA Accessible Rooms are available with King-sized beds for guests who need such amenities. These rooms feature larger and wider entryways for accessibility. Bath-rooms include either a roll-in shower or a room with a standard shower and tub. Both have a hand-held showerhead and grab bars for support. The toilet also has grab bars and, along with the sink, is no higher than 30 inches from the floor. Also offered is visual notification for the hotel alarm sys-tem, door, and phone. For more information about the hotel, call 1-888-444-OMNI or lo-cally at 212-753-5800.

SPECIAL NEEDS: New York City is committed to ensuring accessibility for visi-tors with special needs, and has equipped all buses with lifts for those in wheelchairs and those who have difficulty climbing stairs. In addition, many subway stations contain el-evators, ramps, visual display signs, acces-sible public telephones and tactile and audio features on vending machines. Passengers with disabilities are eligible for reduced fares on most trips by using their Medicare card as proof of eligibility.

Big Apple Greeter is a welcome program that connects visitors with volunteers who enjoy sharing a walk through one or more of New York City’s unique neighborhoods. There are more than 300 volunteer greeters with special-interest expertise, including accessibility issues and foreign language skills.

To assist those with special needs, Scootaround, a wheelchair and scooter rent-al business, makes sure travelers are totally mobile no matter where they go. Whether the destination is a cruise, a convention, a

The Accessible Icon Project represents something you do not see at too many mu-seums. (Photo courtesy of MoMA) The 24 ounce Porterhouse Steak at Morton’s

13 Winter / Spring 2015 - INSPIRATIONS EXPRESS

swanky vacation or a trip to the Big Apple, Scootaround features a toll-free line with friendly operators available 24/7 and deliv-ery to and pick up from wherever you are.

Vega Transportation offers luxury wheel-chair service that is safe and reliable. For more than 20 years, they have helped rede-fine wheelchair transportation through their customized vehicles. Along with a multi-lingual and rigorously trained staff, the ve-hicles are customized with wheelchair lifts, high top roofs and doors, special suspen-sion, front and rear air conditioning, wheel-chair locks and TVs with DVD players.

The Broadway Accessibility Initiative, the result of a partnership between organiza-tions Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts and G-PASS, offers theatergoers with disabili-ties the opportunity to enjoy more Broad-way shows. Currently featured on Broad-way in Catch Me If You Can, the program’s services include I-Caption for hearing im-paired patrons, D-Scriptive for blind and low-vision theatre-goers and ShowTrans for non-English-speaking audience members. All are available free of charge at every per-formance. For more information, visit inclu-sioninthearts.org.

For more information on transportation and cultural venues and their accessibility, download the Official Accessibility Guide. The Mayor’s Office for People with Dis-abilities will send the Official Accessibility Guide free of charge to people who inquire via telephone at 212-788-2830. (The guide is also available to download from http://www.nyc.gov/html/mopd/downloads/pdf/accessibility_guide.pdf). The 100-page, large-type book provides resources and spe-cific accessibility reviews for cultural insti-tutions, theaters, nightlife and sports venues and tours.

DINING OUT: New York City is indeed the place to dine, with an endless array of choices to please your palate. Needless to say, there are no shortage of kosher restau-rants here either.

Morton’s 5th Avenue (www.mortons.com/newyork) is located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan (551 5th Avenue, at 45th Street). Its expansive dining room can accommo-

date large parties or an intimate dinner for two while the private boardrooms are the ideal setting for meetings, celebrations and events. Bar 12-21 is the perfect gathering place for a cocktail or lite bite.

Morton’s offers a diverse list of wines with a portfolio of producers from both domestic and international wineries. General Man-ager Michael Rains has been at this location since it opened 21 years ago, starting out as a server. He is very hands on, visiting each table at the very pretty two tier restaurant which seats 280 diners.

We enjoyed an absolutely outstanding din-ner at Morton’s. Our server John made sure to explain the menu to us in detail, includ-ing the specials. A fresh loaf of bread, with whipped butter, arrived at the table as we began the task of deciding what to order. One member of our party started off with a glass of champagne. While there were a lot of appealing appetizers, we opted instead for a chopped salad which was more than large enough to share. For the main course we opted for what Morton’s is known for. Two members of our party shared an eight ounce center-cut filet mignon while I fa-vored the center-cut prime rib eye. Both of these items were cooked to perfection and literally cut like butter. As for the generous portions of sides, we shared the sour cream mashed potatoes and the hash brown pota-toes. As for dessert, they have a number of specialties which are described in detail be-fore you make your order. That is because they take 20 minutes to make. We were ever so tempted by the Chocolate Molten Cake, served in a bowl covered with ice cream, whipped cream and sundae sauce. It is a good thing the three of us shared it because I do not know how one person can consume this decadent offering.

Morton’s also has veal, pork, chicken, beef short ribs, scampi, sea scallops, crab cakes, shrimp, Chilean sea bass, and lobster and crab legs on the menu.

If you are headed to New York anytime soon and want to check out this Morton’s, make

reservations in advance at 212-972-3315. The restaurant is accessible, with a acces-sible front door and accessible elevator leading down to restrooms with accessible stalls.

CHINA GRILL: During this trip we also dined at the fabulous China Grill (www.chinagrillmgt.com) at 60 West 53rd Street, which happens to be the birthplace of this extraordinary dining spot. In 1987 China Grill New York opened to a packed dining room and immediate critical acclaim. By its fifth anniversary, the restaurant was as busy as ever and regarded as one of the hottest destination spots in New York City. Owner Jeffrey Chodorow’s labor of love, his first and only venture into the restaurant world, had proven to be an enduring success in a scene where restaurants seemed to come and go overnight. Over 20 years later, China Grill Management and its affiliates continue to produce some of the most origi-nal, critically acclaimed and wildly popular dining hotspots in major cities across the globe. CGM and its affiliates own, operate, create concepts, and /or consult in creating some of the most acclaimed and innovative restaurants in Miami, New York, London, Mexico City and now Dubai. We experi-enced the China Grill in Miami five years ago and were excited to get a reservation in the Big Apple.

Virtually every dish at China Grill is pre-pared on the grill or in a wok, using sauces strictly for flavor. Portions are generous, and artfully presented on bold, oversized plates, and above all, meant for sharing. We toast-ed the evening with some champagne and then ordered a pair of starters: the fall off the bone lamb spareribs, plum and sesame glazed and the curried chicken satay, with chilled sesame noodles and toasted peanut sauce. For our main course, we opted for the curry miso black cod, with sweet soy glazed Chinese broccoli and yuzo-miso but-ter sauce and the grilled Szechuan beef, with sake soy spicy shallots and cilantro. As for sides, we had the five vegetable fried rice and the lobster mashed potatoes. We did save some room for dessert and the choc-olate seduction and the mandarin ginger creme brûlee won out. Our server, Pedro, was excellent at describing all of the din-ing options available – and there are plenty. We were also impressed to see Emily Roth, the assistant general manager, so active in the service. Not only did she bring some of the items to the table. She also cleared the plates on a few occasions. We very much appreciated the care the staff took to cater to one family member who had an issue with sesame seeds. They went out of their way to explain what was in each dish and separated the seeds wherever possible.

China Grill is not just a meal, it is an experi-ence. We thoroughly enjoyed every morsel of food that came our way. This venue it-self is very pretty with soaring 30-foot ceil-

ings, multi-level dining platforms, two fully stocked bars and a centralized open kitchen which creates an eye-popping visual coun-terpart to the restaurant’s mouth-watering cuisine. During warm weather months, China Grill’s outdoor patio offers the per-fect oasis for any event. It is right across the street from MoMA. You can call 514-212-333-7788 for reservations. The restaurant is wheelchair accessible.

HARD ROCK TIMES SQUARE: I have always been a big fan of the Hard Rock Cafe (www.hardrock.com) chain and en-joy checking out the different incarnations when I travel. Last summer I did so in Nice, France, so when I found myself in the Times Square area on Saturday night I could not resist stepping inside the 1501 Broadway location to rock my senses with tantaliz-ing food and drinks and enjoy their awe-inspiring rock memorabilia collection. The Times Square cafe features priceless piec-es of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia from Hard Rock’s world-famous collection, including artists with New York roots, such as John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones and Bruce Springsteen. The lively restaurant is a popular destination for locals and travel-ers from all over the world with multiple seating areas, an enthusiastic staff and an extensive menu of high-quality American fare. The street-level Rock Shop carries an assorted line of Hard Rock merchandise including city-specific products such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, pins, leather jackets, key chains, watches, baseball caps, glassware and more. The Hard Rock opened at its current location in 2005 at the historic Para-mount Theater, right in the heart of Times Square. I love the menu at the Hard Rock and on this night I had the delicious legend burger, topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, a golden fried onion ring, crisp let-tuce and vine ripened tomato. It came with crispy fries. For dessert I had the sensational oreo cheesecake. There are so many selec-tions to choose from, including a number of other burgers, sandwiches, starters, sal-ads and entrees such as grilled Norwegian salmon, fried shrimp platter and a cowboy rib eye. The facility does have an elevator for people in wheelchairs to get to the dif-ferent levels.

Mike Cohen can be reached at info@mike-cohen.ca. See his travel advice column at www.sandboxworld.com/travel.

The lamb spareribs at China Grill are be-yond delicious.

The Onion Rings are a big favorite at the Hard Rock Cafe.

The beautiful lobby of the Omni Berkshire Place Hotel.